Round to the gable end.

Saturday along the line.

Not a good day, frankly. We wasted a lot of time on wild goose chases. On top of that it rained in buckets, whereas 'light rain' was forecast. Crossing Cleeve Hill in the Landie was incredible - we were in low cloud, with little visibility and a full tropical rainstorm around us. Poor little Landrover windscreen wipers. They tried.

 

We loaded up two Landies, and Dinmore Manor sighed to a stop by the bracket signal.

A few moments later one arm clattered down, and the Manor set off with deep exhaust beats into a damp sky.

Stirring stuff!

 

The crossing train was headed by the Ivatt, and to photograph that one we sought out a new angle.

Ivatt 46521 leaving Winchcombe on Saturday July 2nd.

Hope you like it !

Then we headed for the foot crossing at 'RDA' (Riders for the Disabled), which is probably our most remote part of the railway. To get there we have to drive over Cleeve Hill, into Prestbury, across to Swindon Lane roundabout, into the race course, and all the way back through the race course grounds almost to Southam Lane. There is a road entrance there, but it is barred to traffic with concrete blocks.

We went to this particular spot on receiving a report of a potential flaw in a rail, which would need to be clamped. We took clamps with us.

On site however the description puzzled 6 grown men. Where was it exactly? We scratched our heads over that one for quite some time.

 

 

 

 

 

It took so long that we almost missed lunch, getting back to the mess coach way beyond our usual time. That was just as well it turned out, as rain rattled furiously on the tin roof of the coach as we munched our sandwiches. 

Wait for the signal, Dave, wait for it, wait for it......

 

 

Shortly afterwards the rain was gone again, so we proceeded to the second and third of our reports of suspected flaws. 

These next two were sighted (as it were) in Greet tunnel.

 

After calling the signalman we were given one hour (!) to fix the problems and make it back to base.

 

 

 

We set off for the tunnel at a fine trot, with three of us already in it, forewarned to bring torches, as that tunnel is a dark one. There's a bend at the Gretton end, so no light comes in. 

Any lights at the end of this tunnel will be a speeding train....

Dave doggedly pushed that trolley uphill, followed by the rest of the gang trying to keep up.

Once several hundred yards into the tunnel we found the first of the two reported faults -  a cracked fishplate.

 

Identifying the plate in question, and the fault.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got the bolts off double quick (the clock is ticking....).

Bert Ferrule is standing ready to whack the set of plates, which will cause the nearest on to fall off. It had been marked in yellow paint to indicate an issue.

Fitting the replacement plate proved difficult, due to the spacing of the holes, and not all the bolts would go in.

Our fishplate expert Dave (for it is he) then examined the crack more closely. The apparent crack was in fact a ridge from the foundry, so not crack present after all. In that case, we thought, we'll put the old plate straight back on, and that fitted perfectly again. On to the other reported fault.

Why won't the new plates fit? Working in the dark...

Refitting the plates, helped by expert blows from a keying hammer.

After a short walk in total darkness, but armed with torches, we found the second fault reported. This time we got our expert Dave (for it is he again) on to confirm the crack straight away. Once again he sat up (possibly with a black nose now) to report: Not a crack at all, but a ridge from the time the plate was cast.

And already our time was up. We threw everything back on the trolley (including six lengths of bonding wire found on the haul road as we walked, bad for the tires of any vehicles) and trotted back down to Winchcombe.

We shunted the trolley back into its siding, stored the tools and treated ourselves to two pots of tea outside the Coffeepot.

Sadly, not a very constructive day, except that Jim turned up in the morning in a bit of a funk, but with some banter, teasing and risky jokes we soon had him laughing heartily again. So that was a win.

46521 accelerates away from CRC and enters the curve to Southam Road bridge.

We saved this shot of 46521 for the end of the PWay report, otherwise the last picture would have been in the dark, and we can't leave you like that, can we?

Tuesday in the loco shed.

A few hours in the loco shed, principally on manufacturing the sleeves for the posts at the bottom of the steps on P2 at Broadway. The posts currently supporting the roof of the steps are temporary RSJs.

 

 

 

These posts will be the same as those we made for P1. They are made of box section steel, with a sleeve on the bottom that will make the posts look as if they are of cast iron. That idea was very successful on P1.

In the picture Neal is grinding down the welds on the sides of the sleeves.

There's been no loco blog for quite a few months now, but that doesn't mean that projects stand still. The 2800s have been shuffled around a bit, so what we see here is 3850 (formerly the place for 2807) with its new cylinders, and indeed a new smokebox. It has a face on it, which always makes us smile.

Also part of the 3850 kit are these two new steel castings that sit behind the buffer beam. It's amazing what a thorough job is being done with this loco, and the sort of stuff you can have cast these days. 

Brilliant!

Wednesday with the Usketeers.

A lovely warm day - summer is here. But Jules wasn't... sadly, domestic issues intervened, and we hope to have him back next week. 

We got there at 08.15, but of course that was mid-morning to some of the gang. We wake up so early these days, and why lie around in bed and wait?

No, Dave hasn't taken up smoking, he's got a lollipop from Paul. Paul has a sweet tooth.

 

Dave started on the corner nearest the station, and filled in a big hole behind the corner. You can't see it, you'll have to take our word for it.

That wall plate is still floating here, so it needs some fill mortared in under it.

Paul was on the same side, but at the other end, and did a similar job - filling in the corner.

We want to be able to sign this entire side off today, and move the trestles round to another face.

 

Our friends from Construction and Maintenance were also active early.

They are helping the project by back filling behind the platform. We were going to do this, but after completing the building, so that certainly helps.

The C&M guys had the Telehandler out and used it to bring in buckets of fill, which previously was in a big pile at the back of the yard. So that kills two birds with one stone.

The Telehandler also brought dumpy bags of poor quality bricks to lay as a level.

These sundry type bricks, many of which were broken, have lingered on the C&W side of the yard for many years, so once again they are finding a useful new home, and we are again killing two birds with one stone - tidying up, and creating the platform surface.

Later on in the morning we snapped the corner on which Dave had been working. He's filled it in, but that wall plate still needs something under it. Next time perhaps.

Filling in the corner allowed us to start placing new blocks along the gable end. The first one is in position in this picture. It's also the first stone on top of the lintel. That lintel is thick, but it needs to be - that block weighed a ton, but two of us manhandled it up there OK. Slowly the blocks should get lighter, as we use up the heaviest ones.

Here's that new block from the outside, together with a smaller one and a sneck on top of it. A lot of creative block choosing, in order to stick to the levels and not make it too difficult to place the next row.

Have some cake - no, have some of mine first !

As the Telehandler was rather noisy and the weather warm and inviting we moved our chairs out from under the tree and sat in the sun.

Cakes today:

- Swiss Roll

- Mince pies with apple filling

- Mrs. Dave's extra special fruit loaf with extra brandy.

There's always a tussle with the cakes in the morning, who gets to share first. John had his apple filled mince pies and was first to offer, but he was trumped by Paul who claimed that his Swiss Roll was 'nearly out of date'. So we had to eat that one first.

Here's a little panorama view of the site during the afternoon. Almost all the C&M guys were busy here today. On the right you can see them back filling and rolling, another chap was cleaning the platform face of surplus mortar, some were digging a post hole off camera,  and in the foreground you can see a gate being cleaned up.

 

Rob's excellent blockwork was finally revealed in full today, with the protective covers taken off to show just how neatly and logically the diamond pattern blocks from Swanbourne have been fitted. They continue from the platform, around the stopblock, and into a little return in the foreground.

The back filling team on the platform wave to the train, with P&O blowing off steam in the background.

This picture shows the full extent of the infill brought and spread out by the C&M gang today.

This whole area used to be a dumping ground for spoil and broken bricks/concrete, but all that is now buried and nicely levelled.

It was also rolled, using the single cylinder roller used for the platforms at Broadway some years back.

 

After lunch we saw the platform face of the building completed, and spent quite a bit of time moving the trestles to the station gable end. 

 

The other trestle (on the right) will move to the opposite face next week.

That chimney liner is going to be in the way a bit. We laid out another row along the top here, over the lintel on the right. All heavy 8 inch high blocks, but from once having a big pile of them, there are hardly any left now. 

All used up, see?

 

Paul bedded down that big block two of us wrestled on from the inside, while Dave was on the opposite end, trying to work to a level (a bit tricky here) running off the quoin on the left.

Here again the end of the wall plate is still floating. Paul wants to do those ends last of all.

Finally for today, an overall view of the gable end as it was completed just before we put the Hessian over it.

Paul has laid two blocks on the right and is half way over the lintel, while Dave has laid three blocks from the left. 

That leaves three large-ish blocks to bed down in the middle. They are already there, but still loose.